It may be worth while to look into purchasing a duplex or a single family home that has an existing basement suite, this can be one of the best options for starting out with real estate investing as it has a very low risk factor. You would be able to live in one of the units and collect rental income for the additional unit, in most cases the rental income will cover a large portion of the new mortgage payment. You would then be able to purchase the investment property with as little as a 5% down payment.
Over the following years you could think of renting out both of these units and move on to a new owner occupied property, you would then have all of the long term benefits of owning an investment property.